Trump bumps up funds for Savannah harbor deepening, but short of
hopes

Stephen B. Morton
In this photo provided by the Georgia Port Authority, six Georgia
Ports Authority cranes work the container ship Cosco Development at
the Port of Savannah on May 12 in Garden City. The ship is the
largest vessel ever to call on the U.S. East Coast. (AP
Photo/Georgia Port Authority, Stephen Morton)

Posted: 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, May 24, 2017

The project to deepen Savannah’s harbor got a boost this week from
President Donald Trump’s budget proposal, just not as much of a lift
as some backers of Georgia’s ports wanted to see.

Boosters had hoped for about $100 million in the fiscal 2018
budget to dredge the Savannah River, but the White House’s spending
plan of $50 million, while a high-water mark for the federal
government, falls well short.

And the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dashed hopes by Georgia
leaders late Wednesday when it announced no discretionary
construction funds from fiscal 2017 would be added to this year’s
appropriation. That decision could put the project at risk of
further delays.

Still, in a budget blueprint that calls for deep cuts for
entitlements and other domestic programs, Georgia leaders on
Wednesday touted the new money as a win after years of uncertainty
about federal funding for a project that has risen in price to
nearly $1 billion.

“In a budget crafted with many spending reductions, it is extremely
reassuring to see that this administration realizes how important
this project is not only to our area, but to the entire nation,”
said U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, whose 1
st
Congressional District includes the Savannah port.

On Wednesday, Deal’s office said in a statement that it was
“grateful” for the $50 million from Trump’s budget, calling it a
“sign of good faith from the federal government.”

“Unfortunately, the Army Corps of Engineers chose not to
prioritize this project in its discretionary funds,” the statement
said. “It is our hope that the Corps will decide to devote future
funding to (the Savannah port project) so that it will continue on
its current timeline.

“While the governor is certainly thankful for President Trump’s
and the Congress’ contributions to this effort, we look forward to
the federal government following Georgia’s lead by fully funding its
portion of this vital project,” Deal’s office said.

The state’s port system is a vital part of metro Atlanta’s economy
and its status as a national logistics hub. Georgia ports account
for some $40 billion in estimated economic impact across the state,
and they directly or indirectly touch about 400,000 jobs.

In its
request for the 2018 fiscal year
that begins Oct. 1, the Trump administration told Congress it would
like to set aside some $50 million for ongoing dredging work to
deepen the harbor from 42 feet to 47 feet.

That’s a 17 percent increase above the amount that lawmakers and the
Obama administration
agreed to give the project last year
, but it’s half of what boosters say is necessary each year over the
next four years to keep the project on schedule.

Backers of the Savannah port, however, framed the request as a good
omen. Many have long complained that the federal government has
taken too long to fork over its
now $640 million
share of the project, after the state ponied up $266 million in seed
money several years ago.

Congress’ final product

As is the case with all presidential budget requests, Congress is
expected to substantially alter the Trump proposal. But with
individual projects such as the Savannah port, lawmakers tend not to
tinker with the White House’s proposal so they don’t run aground of
the 6-year-old earmark ban.

There had been some optimism among Georgia lawmakers on Capitol
Hill that the project would be in line this year for extra money
from the federal government thanks to a broader account in the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers’ budget that’s devoted to funding ongoing
construction projects.

Combined with the $42.7 million already allocated for fiscal 2017,
Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch said the
dredging project will not lose any time.

“We’re heading in the right direction,” Lynch said. “The money is
there, and the corps is telling us we are their top priority
project.”

The venture has been in the works for years and enjoys bipartisan
support in Georgia as a core economic development project that will
bring jobs and money to the region in conjunction with the newly
expanded Panama Canal.

Trump’s proposed funding increase for the Savannah River is
notable given that his administration proposed slimming the corps’
overall budget by more than 16 percent, a move that raised the ire
of Democrats.

“Despite President Trump’s repeated promises to rebuild roads,
bridges, airports and other infrastructure, the budget proposal the
administration released today is actually a net cut to
infrastructure spending,” the office of Senate Democratic leader
Chuck Schumer said in a statement.

Taking bigger ships

The Savannah port is the nation’s No. 4 container port by volume,
and the Ports Authority said this week that the system had its
best-ever month of April in terms of tonnage.

That came the same month after the corps announced the cost spike
for the expansion work, and that dredging would take two years
longer to complete than initially expected. But on the bright side,
the nation’s return on taxpayer investment is expected to be greater
even after the price spike because of savings in freight
transportation costs.

The channel deepening project is one of the largest infrastructure
projects in state history. The project would deepen the river
channel to 47 feet over a span of about 40 miles from the port to
the Atlantic Ocean.

“We’re not only shovel-ready, we are dredge-ready,” Deal said May
12. “We have dredges in operation. We just need to finish it. I
think we’re going to get great cooperation from the Corps of
Engineers. They’ve been great partners, by the way, to getting to
this point.”

Earlier this month, Savannah welcomed the largest container ship to
ever visit an East Coast port,
a harbinger of bigger ships to come
. For now, megaships visiting Savannah can only ply the channel
during high tides when less than fully loaded.

Other rival ports on the East Coast have also spent big on
upgrading their infrastructure and expanding their channels in
expectation of larger ships transiting the Panama Canal.

At one time, 12 megaships were expected to cross the new Panama
locks per day, a forecast that was later cut to two to three ships
daily. Canal officials say they’re now averaging about six of the
largest vessels per day.

Taylor Howerton, a senior vice president and ports and logistics
industry specialist with SunTrust Banks in Atlanta, said shipping
costs on the East Coast are more competitive with West Coast ports
with both the Panama Canal’s expansion and larger ships flowing
through the Suez Canal in Egypt.

As a result, goods that traditionally would travel from Asia to
Los Angeles, for instance, and move east by rail, now head by ship
to American ports on the Atlantic.

“Shippers are going to naturally choose their routes based on
economics,” he said.

The Port of Savannah

The Savannah port is the fourth-busiest container port in the
U.S. and the second-busiest (after New York/New Jersey) on the East
Coast.

Economic impact:
An estimated impact of nearly $40 billion on Georgia’s economy,
with about 400,000 jobs in the state tied directly or indirectly to
the port

Sources: Georgia Ports Authority, University of Georgia

The Savannah Harbor Expansion Project

Cost:
Now estimated at $973 million, up 38 percent from earlier
projections

State share:
Georgia has already raised $266 million. That could rise by about
$67 million.

What will it do?
Deepen the river from 42 to 47 feet, while also mitigating
environmental issues

Other stats:
The project is about 41 miles long, from the Garden City Terminal
into the Atlantic Ocean. About 24 million cubic yards of river mud
will be dredged, enough to fill seven Georgia Domes.

Estimated completion:
January 2022

Return on investment:
It is now believed that each dollar spent will return $7.30, or
$282 million annually, mainly from savings in transportation costs.

Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, AJC archives

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